Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Though I haven't enjoyed very much new school hip hip beyond the well-produced Nicki Minaj mixtapes from a few years back (before she turned David Guetta clone on us), I've received so much love for my Pepper Labeija mix from last year that I went ahead and made another mixtape along the same lines. Nothing too obscure on here but if you care to share anything of note with me, please do.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Scott Ewalt is an East Village pioneer. He's been in the neighborhood DJing and making art for longer than almost anyone else I know which not only gives him major street cred but pretty much means he can play any kind of themed Good Times party he wants. So when he got in touch and asked me about teaming for a Marinol Sunsplash Good Times, an evening of roots, reggae and rock steady, how could I say no?

Though I started out with more of a deep house set than anything remotely Jamaican, everyone began feeling irie pretty quickly, including Eugene (right), who reminded me that we need to do a follow-up to our smash Chaka Kahn party called Chakaholic STAT.

In addition to the lovely reggae sounds of Scott Ewalt, we also had guest photographer Gabe Ayala of Rolling Blackouts from Los Angeles with us to take photos of both partygoers and those corners of Eastern Bloc that I never really notice like this graffiti here.

Michael (left) and William, showing you how to huff poppers properly.

Frankie (left) and David (right) say that pairing a black cap with a plaid button-down is the way to go for your Autumn 2012 look.

Frankie and William bring new meaning to the term Sleep No More (now with special Halloween week performances and parties. Click here!)

Even though Rob is practically married with children (err, a dog. Same diff), he's still managing to get hotter and hotter as the weeks pass by, though he also swears by that old Swizz Beatz mantra: IF YOU LIKE IT THEN YOU BETTER PUT A RING ON IT.

Peter (right) says yes to Althea and Donna's Uptown Ranking, one of the more recognizable tracks that Scott played (along with lots of Missy Elliott reggae remixes) and certainly a crowd fave.

When did this gesture go from an eating pussy innuendo to a "say cheese" photo pose? Oh, and speaking of pussies, can I just shout out Paisley Dalton for playing Khia's Pay Yo Pussy Bill at last week's My Chiffon is Wet? It was major.

The man of the hour giving the most extensive and awesome reggae set I think I've ever heard out at a bar or club in New York City.

Gabe's camera flash was HELLA bright which might be why this cutie flipped him the bird, though I must say that the photos came out quite good despite whatever blindness it may have caused Good Times patrons last Wednesday.

Casting a spell on him because hey, tis' October, the season of the witch. Don't forget that you only have one more week to plan your Black Queen look for our big Halloween Good Times blow out with me and Lina and Trani and the rest of the Good Times family.

I like to think that my armpits are almost as famous as Ladyfag's but then again, she had some crazy google thing a few years ago where you could type armpits or something and a photo of her would pop up, which makes her numero uno when it comes to internet armpit memes.

Alon finally trimmed back that mane of his and we're feeling it.

Not sure if he was dancing or just trying to prop himself up with the pole as support but either way, I'm not mad at it.

A quick stop and chat with Hakan (left), who equally loves photos of club kids and homeless people according to his instagram feed. He has yet to meet the ultimate homeless-club kid combo though, Kelvin, who is still M.I.A.

CIRCUIT PARTY GOOD TIMES!

Does he have the front half of his shirt tucked behind his neck? I never really understood the appeal of that in general, let alone out at a club on a Wednesday night in October.

Despite what I just said in the last photo caption, NOT MAD AT IT.

Thank you photographer Gabe for bring that west coast porn photo aesthetic to Good Times. We need much more of this in our day-to-day lives.

Waiting in Vain (for him to invite him back to his place).

Much like last time when Scott DJed for a Little Richard Southern Fried Soul Shack dance party, everybody cut loose and skanked their way all over the bar. And for once, I'm talking about skanking in a dancing sense.

Feelin' On Your Booty. (And speaking of R. Kelly, Trapped in the Closet is coming back to New York theaters later this month!)

Me and my nightlife daddy Darren, who needs to simultaneously open Eastern Bloc outputs in both Brooklyn and Berlin ASAP.

And then there's my gay Jewish uncle Scott, who always has the best advice for me in between stories of handsome fashion models who hit on him at the gym.

The sexiness that is Marc is back behind coat check looking better than ever. He also just performed at Hustaball and told us that he has big tings a gwan in the next few months and we're excited to see and hear more.

I'm out in San Francisco next week for Booty Call, Some Thing and Viennetta Discotheque (come!) but I told Steven and Momo to pop into Good Times anyway, as Nita and Gant will be doing a Tubway Reunion (!!!) and I'm hella bummed to be missing it.

Or (pictured here) has just joined growing movement known as Israelis for Sparber.

Oh how I love my Xander.

A huge thank you to Scott who not only played a bomb ass reggae set but also hooked me up with a reggae mix cd as a parting gift. I'm hoping there is more where that came from.

After hours with Momo (right) and Parodi, who is still super handsome, even when a bit tipsy.

Sleep no more, boys! Back at 3am and ready for the late late night set, which, as I always say, is the best set of the night. See you in San Francisco. Otherwise, go to the Tubway reunion at Good Times and then come out the following Wednesday for our big fucking Halloween party! xo, Sparber

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Today, I looked at my camera roll from last Wednesday's Good Times at Eastern Bloc (with guest DJ Lauren Flax, whose set was off the chain, by the way) and thought, "damn, I only took 35 photos? (20 of which you'll find posted here). I must have really had a good time." And that, I did.

The photo taking started when Frankie Sharp (pictured here with maybe the other coolest chick in New York after guest DJ Lauren Flax) showed up earlier than I've ever seen before. Turns out Frankie won the highly-esteemed Paper Magazine nightlife award for best camouflage at a leopard party. Now if only he could fit it with the cougars.

Oh wait...Frankie is doing just fine in the male cougar department as well.

We're trying to convince our good friend from LA named Blas (pronounced BLAH!-sssss) to move to New York because who really needs sun and sand on a year-round basis? Come freeze with us for the next six months Blas!

Aly must have been at the same leopard lounge as Frankie earlier in the evening. Oh, and by the way, happy birthday Aly! You are more loved than 10,000 leopards doing the Cha Cha Slide at a Good Times party.

It was one of those night where the crowd tends to stay clumped together in various parts of the bar throughout the evening. And those nights tend to have more breathing room, more action and more handsome bearded men then, say, the shitshow that is going to be a Wednesday night Halloween later this month.

Guest DJ Lauren Flax played off of two USB sticks (!!!) and sounded as awesome as I knew she would. Though she's big with the ladies of Brooklyn and the rest of the world, the gays of New York really need to get into her sound because not only is she a bright and rising DJ and production star, she's also major.

The boys are back in town and they're giving face face face, beauty face.

This little one named Fernando (left, with Ryan) had my heart when he introduced himself by telling me, "I'm Venezuelan and I have a big ass. What else is there to know?" My thoughts exactly.

The innocence of today's youth.

As I geared up to snap this photos, the crowd surrounding us started chanting, KISS! KISS! KISS! And so it was.

I forget the names of these two cuties but I simply think of them as the Backpacks, since they tend to wear their backpacks as fashion accessories in addition to being a practical place to store condoms, lube and boxed sets of Golden Girls DVDs.

Ludo (right) arrived with an entire crew of Frenchmen in tow who looked picture perfect but mostly spoke French (surprise!) to one another.

Eliot (left) and I chummed it up with this hunky Italian named Marcos who is a big deal in the theatre world and just wrapped one-act at La Mama. He also made a stealthy escape as Lauren Flax finished her set and I began mine so I didn't have time to propose marriage to him just yet.

My old neighbor and thin mint cookie fanatic Jermaine popped by to give and get a big ol' hug. He's good for that and I'm good for that. Just ask either of us.

Mat with one T (left) came to visit us two weeks in a row last Wednesday between his hectic new schedule of selling apartments around town.

Apparently the grey v-neck is a bit more popular than I had previously anticipated.

Ummmm, the grey v-neck is a lot more popular than I had previously anticipated.

After a long absence, Starelle (left) came out to fill me in on everything I've missed in the weeks that we've been apart. And James (in the background with his iconic Pepsi shirt) also showed face and delivered a dozen roses for me and bartender Darren to share.

My late night set certainly wouldn't have been as fulfilling if William hadn't returned with Timmy and Frankie to get naked and make out with those who dare to stay out late on a Wednesday night.

All in all, it was an OTTERly fantastic evening. Thank you to Lauren Flax and her USB drives as well as everyone else that came out. See you next week when we get dubby with guest DJ Scott Ewalt at our Marinol Sunsplash Good Times. And then I'm DJing my monthly third Friday JIZZ party at Metropolitan, followed by nine days in San Francisco. Hayyyyy. xo, Sparber